Run Smart, Run Strong

When Rochelle Basil tossed her running shoes to the back of the closet after a collegiate career that nearly broke her, she assumed it was for good. But years later, the marathon came calling, and she had to answer. After an injury ended her first training cycle, she hired a coach. He promptly told her she wasn’t to race her first marathon; she would do it as a workout. And work out she did, following his plan to the letter, and turning in a scorching time along the way.

Rochelle is now able to take the lessons from the crucible of her own running career and help her athletes avoid the same mistakes, as a coach for Lift | Run | Perform. She sat down with me to cover her unexpected recruitment from a single road race in New Zealand to a full-ride Division I scholarship in the States. She details the struggles that soon drove her to quit running, tells the story of two very different marathon experiences, and we chat about the magic a coach can add to any training plan.

That magic starts for her runners when she teaches them the difference between junk miles and easy miles. Rochelle strives to coach the intent of each workout, not just the prescribed distances and paces. She touches on the dangers new athletes face trying to emulate the workouts they see from the pros on Instagram, and why consistency trumps everything else over the course of a cycle.